Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its price target increased by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $180.00 to $200.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 6.67% from the company’s previous close.
Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Waters in a research report on Tuesday, September 26th. They set a “hold” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Waters from $190.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Waters from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their target price on Waters from $188.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $211.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 23rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $203.75.
Waters (WAT) traded up $3.31 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $214.30. The stock had a trading volume of 861,288 shares, compared to its average volume of 450,967. Waters has a 12-month low of $137.72 and a 12-month high of $218.72. The company has a current ratio of 6.16, a quick ratio of 5.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $17,040.00, a PE ratio of 1,190.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.82.
In other Waters news, SVP Rohit Khanna sold 26,913 shares of Waters stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.93, for a total value of $5,326,890.09. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,707,088.61. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Elizabeth B. Rae sold 12,000 shares of Waters stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.95, for a total value of $2,375,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 18,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,588,635.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 93,159 shares of company stock worth $18,412,172 in the last three months. 5.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Waters by 20,670.6% in the 2nd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,929,793 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $354,773,000 after acquiring an additional 1,920,502 shares during the last quarter. Harding Loevner LP increased its stake in Waters by 207.1% in the 3rd quarter. Harding Loevner LP now owns 2,768,174 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $158,275,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866,848 shares during the last quarter. Koch Industries Inc. increased its stake in Waters by 36,932.0% in the 2nd quarter. Koch Industries Inc. now owns 534,742 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $532,000 after acquiring an additional 533,298 shares during the last quarter. Fundsmith LLP increased its stake in Waters by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. Fundsmith LLP now owns 3,833,955 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $704,834,000 after acquiring an additional 401,420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Waters by 157.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 651,400 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $116,939,000 after acquiring an additional 398,438 shares during the last quarter. 92.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
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About Waters
Waters Corporation is an analytical instrument manufacturer. The Company operates through two segments: Waters and TA. It designs, manufactures, sells and services high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC and together with HPLC, referred to as LC) and mass spectrometry (MS) technology systems and support products, including chromatography columns, other consumable products and post-warranty service plans.
